How Do Fake Drugs And Chinese Counterfeit Medicine Impact Latin America & Its Pharmaceutical Industry?

Fake drugs impact so many aspects of society, it is hard to really wrap your arms around the problem. Public health, law enforcement, hospitals, drugstores and yes, even large pharma conglomerates. Pharmaceutical sales in Latin America are projected to grow nearly 12% per year through 2017. That makes it one of the most promising industries in the region.

What is the biggest problem facing pharmaceutical companies looking to capitalize on emerging markets in Latin America? No, it's probably not underdeveloped infrastructure or under-educated health-care providers. It is most likely illicit medicine, with Chinese counterfeit drug smugglers spanning out across the world's oceans.

Not only are fake drugs an issue for the legitimate pharmaceutical companies attempting to make inroads in Latin America, they represent a tragic public health problem. More than one million people worldwide die each year because of illicit medicine on the open market. That is moral problem and one that proper intellectual property infrastructure can help alleviate, even if just a bit.

Late in July, Colombian officials dismantled a criminal enterprise that was selling fake drugs and contraband medicine in legal markets. Some of those illicit medicines included treatments for brain tumors and HIV. Some drugs were manufactured in secret facilities, while others were smuggled across the border. No doubt, some came from East Asia and China.

Chinese counterfeit medicines are a problem in every corner of the globe. As Latin America grows its modern industries from biotech to Internet companies to the healthcare sector, the potential for cheap knockoffs in any business is going to grow as well. The negative economic impact of fake...